Frank Richard Archibald - Australian Army · Frank Richard Archibald Frank Archibald was a...
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Army Indigenous Strategy: Enhancing Army capability Frank Richard Archibald Frank Archibald was a Gumbaynggirr man, born in Walcha, New South Wales. He enlisted at Kempsey in 1940 with his younger brother Ronald and his uncle Richard. Frank saw service with the 2/2nd Battalion in the Middle East, Greece and Crete before being sent back to Australia. After a brief trip back home to Kempsey, Frank and his brother Ronald were sent to Papua New Guinea. They fought in some of the worst conditions along the Kokoda Track. Ronald became ill with malaria and was evacuated to hospital, while Frank was sent to the Siege of Buna. On 24 November 1942, in the swampland around Sanananda, Frank was killed by a sniper’s bullet while trying to save a mate who survived the action. On Anzac Day 2012, members of the Archibald family gathered at Bomana Cemetery in Port Moresby to call Frank’s spirit home in a traditional spiritual ceremony. Soil was also taken from his gravesite and reinterred with his family in Armidale Cemetery. A warrior finally at rest.
Transcript of Frank Richard Archibald - Australian Army · Frank Richard Archibald Frank Archibald was a...
Army Indigenous Strategy: Enhancing Army capability
Frank Richard ArchibaldFrank Archibald was a Gumbaynggirr man, born in Walcha, New South Wales. He enlisted at Kempsey in 1940 with his younger brother Ronald and his uncle Richard. Frank saw service with the 2/2nd Battalion in the Middle East, Greece and Crete before being sent back to Australia.
After a brief trip back home to Kempsey, Frank and his brother Ronald were sent to Papua New Guinea. They fought in some of the worst conditions along the Kokoda Track. Ronald became ill with malaria and was evacuated to hospital, while Frank was sent to the Siege of Buna.
On 24 November 1942, in the swampland around Sanananda, Frank was killed by a sniper’s bullet while trying to save a mate who survived the action.
On Anzac Day 2012, members of the Archibald family gathered at Bomana Cemetery in Port Moresby to call Frank’s spirit home in a traditional spiritual ceremony. Soil was also taken from his gravesite and reinterred with his family in Armidale Cemetery. A warrior finally at rest.
